Atek Grid announces cryptocurrency plans

The Atek Grid has launched a new cryptocurrency, which will become the primary in-world currency, grid owner Frank Corsi told Hypergrid Business.

The new currency, Dosh Coins, is based on blockchain technology. This is similar to the way Bitcoin works, except that its based on a slightly different cryptocurrency technology, Etherium ERC20. While Bitcoin is the most popular cryptocurrency in public use, Ethereum is a common platform for companies who want to set up their own cryptocurrencies or other blockchain-based projects for internal use.

Dosh was launched late last year, and, according to Etherscan, it has 22 users, with a total distribution of the equivalent of $180,000. Users can buy the currency on the Dosh Coins website, where one Dosh Coin is worth US $1. However, almost all of the users have at least $1,000 worth of the virtual currency, meaning that it’s unlikely that it’s being widely used for in-world transactions as of yet. In fact, only three users have less than $100 worth of the currency.

Frank Corsi

The Dosh Coin project is currently in development, and has only been deployed and tested on the Atek Grid since January, said Corsi. “We hope to make these services and more fully available in the coming months.”

Among the other cryptocurrency services the company is working on is a shopping platform, Coin Shopping Zone, which is designed to work both in-world and online, called

“This system will enhance both virtual and real life merchants by using cryptocurrency technology,” he said.

Ad billboard on Atek Grid. (Image courtesy Frank Corsi.)

Another cryptocurrency project is the Magnet Coin, another Ethereum-based currency. This one will be used at the Magnet Ad Agency to buy and sell advertising space both online and on in-world billboards and signs.

“Sign owners can now collect Magnet Coins for use of its signs, and advertisers can pay for sign spaces with Magnet Coins,” Corsi said.

According to Etherscan, there are currently 10 accounts holding Magnet Coins, each of which has 20,000 coins or more.

Dosh Coin trading history on Integrity Cryptocurrency Markets.

The company is also launching an online currency exchange, Integrity Cryptocurrency Markets, which is intended to trade any Ethereum-based coins that fall under the “functional utility token” category. It will also hold initial coin offerings — ICOs — for companies looking to raise money for projects that use functional utility currency in a virtual world setting. It currently only lists Dosh Coins and Magnet Coins.

“We will have the first virtual world trading platform for cryptocurrencies,” said Corsi.

There will also be an in-world location, he said, “for people to socialize and gather to talk about the goings on with the community.”

Atek, a commercial grid that allows users to connect their own regions, previously had the Game Tokens currency for in-world transactions, which is a more traditional type of virtual currency, not based on blockchain technology.

“Our parent company, and sole owner of the Game Tokens, has maintained and active FinCEN registration since 2014,” he said. Atek is owned and operated by Florida Web Council, Inc. a Florida Corporation which is a member of the Smartstart Business incubator operated by the Pasco County, Florida Economic Development Council and the Dade City, Florida Chamber of Commerce.

Maria Korolov is editor and publisher of Hypergrid Business. She has been a journalist for more than twenty years and has worked for the Chicago Tribune, Reuters, and Computerworld and has reported from over a dozen countries, including Russia and China. Follow me on Twitter @MariaKorolov.

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